jogoReno Makes Plans to Create a Massive Sports Arena in Reno

Big plans are in the works to create a one-of-a kind racquetball court and tournament arena right here in Reno. The company behind the project is jogoReno and the creators are locals. Jogo means "play" in Portuguese and the potential sports complex would be built for both locals to enjoy and for national racquetball competitions.

The new sports facility is slated to be built behind the Grand Sierra Resort. Right now the empty lot may not look like much, but in about a year it could be completely transformed.

Managing partner of jogoReno, Michael Neeser is in the process of turning the old lot into a four-story building that would be open 24 hours. "We're not just talking to the racquetball players in Reno. We're talking to people who love to play all those sports, so we'll be a sports center for local players."

Neeser says his team looked at national statistics that conferred into local statistics to see what people wanted. "We realized there was a need for a national, international event center much like the bowling center," said Neeser.

It's supposed to be massive: high tech and one-of-a-kind with glass floors lit up with LED lights. "There's 32 courts and those courts, you can play racquetball and handball and squash and walleyball and indoor soccer," said Neeser. (Walleyball is volleyball, but the ball bounces off racquetball walls.)

jogoReno and the Grand Sierra Resort just signed a 30-year lease for the 68,000 square foot sports facility. That's just the first step, now they're on phase two. "This is phase two, the capital raising phase," said Neeser. "If that goes well, we'll get done sometime this summer and the fall we'll start construction and the following fall we would open."

While the project is still in the beginning phases, residents we spoke to say they're excited about the potentially new sports center. "It seems like a pretty good idea. This place draws the biggest majority of tourists here," said Stead resident Brian Scheckla.

The center would also be aimed at providing a place for students and teens to work out and play. "I think it's really great because I'm involved in athletics and like having a facility like that is really cool," said Lovely Scheckla.

President and Chief Operating Officer for Hospitality and Gaming, Steve Woldtenholme, said the project would also boost business for the GSR and bring in more tourists. "We look at this as a major opportunity to bring additional visitations to the city and if the city thrives, we're all going to thrive," said Woldtenholme. "We're looking at potentially up to as this thing gets rolled out, maybe around 20,000 additional room nights per year."

Jobs will also be headed our way if the plans for the new facility move forward. "We'll have all the job opportunities that any kind of club would have and especially when the tournaments are here," said Neeser.

Around $11 million still needs to be raised to finish funding the project, but Neeser says he's confident they'll get there. "We've got to raise our capital, which is always a challenge but so far from what we see, we believe we will be able to do that," said Neeser.

Around 100 additional parking spaces would also be created right next to the facility to allow more people to visit.

Many people also reached out on Facebook asking whether or not there are still plans to build an indoor water park at the Grand Sierra Resort. We asked and representatives of the resort told us, bringing in an indoor park is not completely out of the question. They are open to the idea but just need to have a contractor who is willing to get the job done.

You can help the Food Bank of Northern Nevada this month by donating to Run on Tuna. The annual fundraiser aims to collect about 10,000 cans of tuna every September and they're hoping to do that again this year.

You can help the Food Bank of Northern Nevada this month by donating to Run on Tuna. The annual fundraiser aims to collect about 10,000 cans of tuna every September and they're hoping to do that again this year.